


the first rejection

by liionne



Series: A thousand ways to meet [31]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Police, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-09
Updated: 2014-03-09
Packaged: 2018-01-15 03:42:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1289971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liionne/pseuds/liionne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He turns to look at Jim, and Jim’s still giving that easy grin, holding on to the hope that if he keeps grinning this guy might be swayed by just how gorgeous he is.</p><p>But there’s a cold look in those hazel eyes, and it takes Jim exactly 0.2 seconds to know that this guy wants nothing but to be left alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the first rejection

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd, of course. And the ending's pretty crappy but ah well.

“Oh my god.” Jim all but chokes on his scotch, watching the man who has just walked into the bar. He’s the living embodiment of tall, dark and handsome, and even though he’s got a face a thunderstorm he’s all alone and he’s sitting at the bar. He’s gorgeous. And Jim would really like to tap that.

“Look, look.” He nods to the guy, who reaches across the counter to grab the rusty coloured drink he’s just ordered and the shots that accompany it. He grabs the first shot, and tilts his head to knock it back. Jim watches the long line of his throat, Adam’s Apple bobbing as he swallows, and Jim thinks about all the different ways he could mark that neck.

“You’d never get that.” Sulu shakes his head, gulping down the last of beer. “I mean, you have a gift, but that-”

“Him, Sulu.” Uhura corrects, grinning. “That’s a him. I know it’s been a long time since you’ve seen one, but uh-”

Everyone in the booth takes offense. They’re all men, after all. All officers in the San Francisco Police Department, and all big, burly men.

Which is laughable, seeing as they started the night of with Appletinis.

“You don’t think I could hit that?” Jim asks.

Sulu shakes his head. Scotty agrees with Sulu. Nyota agrees with Scotty.

“He likes a guy with class, Jim.” She says. “Something you would have no idea about.”

Jim snorts. “I’m a classy guy.” He knocks back the last of his scotch.

“Yeah, evidently.” Nyota retorts, eyes rolling.

“Look. I bet you all ten bucks that I can get that guy to go home with me.” Jim says, eyebrows raising in an obvious challenge.

“Ten bucks each?” Scotty asks, all but choking on his drink.

Jim grins. “Each. But if you win, you’ve all got to give me ten bucks.”

“Deal.” Sulu nods. The others nod too. “Now off you go.”

Jim grinned. Easiest thirty bucks he ever made.

Jim Kirk has a certain talent for picking women up- hell, not even just women. There’s something about his charming smile and bright blue eyes, that always seem to reflect the light in some magical way, that make the people around him swoon. The guys from SFPD are used to it, of course, he’s been there since the academy, but he’s been told, on numerous occasions, that the way he grins when he leans against the bar and says, “I’ll have what he’s having.” has a way of melting everyone in the near vicinity.

“If this is a pick up you can get lost.”

Jim has delivered his line, and he’s gave that signature grin, but it hasn’t worked. His grin slowly fades, but he picks it back right up again. The other hasn’t even looked in his direction.

“C’mon.” Jim grins, drawing out the sound. “At least look at me before you dismiss me.”

He turns to look at Jim, and Jim’s still giving that easy grin, holding on to the hope that if he keeps grinning this guy might be swayed by just how gorgeous he is.

But there’s a cold look in those hazel eyes, and it takes Jim exactly 0.2 seconds to know that this guy wants nothing but to be left alone.

“Get lost.” He repeats.

“Don’t you even want to know my name, first?” Jim asks, one last attempt to win this bet and take this guy home. The other wrinkles his nose, and gulps down half the glass of what Jim thinks might be bourbon in one go.

“It doesn’t matter. Because you’re leaving. And ‘m not gonna see you again.” He turns away, and Jim blinks. Never, never, has that approach not worked. Even if he gets the initial brush-off he can bring it back with the name line, get them to ask for his name and then they’re chatting, and he brings them round that way, but this guy has completely brushed him off.

And Jim doesn’t have the thirty dollars that he now owes.

“He was a douche anyway.” Jim huffs as he slips back into the booth.

His friends, of course, are smiling.

“Pay up, Kirk.” Sulu grins.

“I’ll pay you all tomorrow.” He says, turning his glass, the ice cubes clinking at the bottom. He’s never been rejected before. He’s not quite sure how to take it.

Uhura, apparently, picks up on his quiet distress. Because just as Sulu goes to demand his money, still grinning like a Cheshire Cat, she hushes him.

“Fine.” She says, like it’s a chore. “But we want it first thing tomorrow.”

~*~

Jim tries very hard not to think about the man that brushed him off, but it’s just not that easy. He hasn’t been rejected since he was in middle school, and even then it was only because he had pulled the girl’s hair in elementary school and she was holding a grudge. He had gotten over that pretty quickly, but this-

Well, he’s stuck on this one.

He can’t understand. He just can’t. This guy hasn’t even given him a chance, had looked at him for all of two seconds and then turned away, dismissed him. Jim just wants to know why.

He comes to the conclusion that either the guy is in a serious, committed relationship.

Or that he’s just come out of one.

Either way, he knows that it’s pretty damn pointless trying again. He’s not going to see this guy ever again, and he’s not going to change his mind even if he does. He might as well just give up.

~*~

When he sees him again, he learns that his name is Leonard McCoy, and that he’s a trauma surgeon. He works at San Francisco General Hospital, which is only 4 minutes away from the Operations Unit of SFPD, so it’s funny they didn’t run into each other more often.

Jim tells him that as Leonard - Bones, seeing as he’s a doctor - pushes him into the ER.

Somebody sets up a drip up, slipping the needle into the back of Jim’s hand, and he doesn’t protest. His eyes follow Bones around the room. He’s aware of someone pushing something into his IV, and suddenly the pain in his stomach dissipates.

“Get him upstairs and prepped for surgery. We’ll have to take the bullet out. Go call a resident, any resident, get them on this.”

“Would you like me to call orthopedic surgeon? We think his pelvis might be shattered.”

“No. I can do it.”

Jim giggles; whatever’s in his system is make him loopy. “Bones.” He repeats. It has more meaning now.

“Shut up, kid.” The doctors snaps, but there’s no malice or threat behind it. “Ten minutes. That’s all you’ve got.” He tells the nurse by Jim’s side. She nods, and calls over a person in light blue scrubs as Bones, who is already leaving, disappears from view.

~*~

When Jim wakes, it’s the pain in his head that he feels first of all, then followed by the pain in his stomach.

It ripples through him, causing him to yelp, cry out, and squirm. He writhes because it hurts, it burns, and he’s sure that actually getting shot didn’t hurt this much.

But then there another person in the room, and there’s a syringe being produced. Someone pushes something into the drip he’s on, and only then, when the pain subsides, does Jim opens his eyes.

It’s Bones. And he’s grumbling about stupid residents and their god damn interns.

“God damn irresponsible. All I asked them to do was make sure they gave the damn meds and here you are waking up like that, a definite nine, and I swear to god-”

“You think I’m a nine?”

That’s all Jim got out of that little rant.

Bones’ eyes narrow. “On the pain scale.”

“Are you sure?” Jim asks.

Bones’ eyes are still very narrow. He’s annoyed. That much is plain even to Jim.

“No. You’re ‘bout a two now, I reckon.”

Jim’s grin drops right off his face, and he folds his arms over his chest as best he can when he’s hooked up to so many machines. His limbs feel heavy, so he fumbles to do it, but he manages it eventually.

“You’re meant to be nice to the sick guy.” Jim states.

“You’re not sick.” Bones states. “You got shot. Wounded. Whole different kettle of fish.”

“You should still be nice to me.” Jims says, as innocently as he can manage. “Doesn’t matter what kettle of fish we’re talking about.”

Bones just huffs as he leaves the room. “Press the button next to your bed if you need anything.”

~*~

Chapel, the nurse, comes in to see him.

“How’re you doing, Mr. Kirk?” She asks, smiling as he checks over his chart.

Jim shrugs his shoulders. “I’m okay. How long are they keeping me here?”

“Doctor McCoy wants to keep you in for about a week, maybe two. Your pelvis wasn’t shattered like we thought it was, but there was a lot of intestinal damage.” She nods.

Jim frowns. Damn. He’s not sure he can take two weeks of Leonard McCoy’s cold shoulder.

When the room falls silent, Jim sighs.

“Is Doctor McCoy always so grouchy?” He asks.

She purses her lips. Obviously Jim has stepped onto a territory that she’s not comfortable with.

“It’s really not my place to say, Mr. Kirk.” She murmurs.

“Press the button if you need anything.” She adds, as she leaves.

~*~

Jim does not press the button. Instead, he waits. He has to find out what Leonard McCoy’s deal is, but he can’t think of any decent way to do it. As far as he knows, he’s only seen Bones once before, at the bar, but he acts as if Jim has committed some heinous crime against him, like they were going out and he cheated.

So when Bones comes to his room with Chapel to check on him, Jim pretends to be asleep.

“He was asking, you know.” Chapel murmurs. She sounds like she thinks it’s a secret, but Jim knows she’s only murmuring because she thinks he’s asleep, and she doesn’t want to wake him. “Why you’re so mean. You’re a doctor, Leonard, you’re being petty.”

“I’m not being petty.” He retorts. Jim thinks he might be looking away, because his voice sounds different.

“You are.” Chapel says. “I don’t know how you met him before, but I know that look in your eyes. That’s how you used to look at-”

“Don’t.” Bones snaps. His voice is suddenly a lot louder and a lot closer than it was before. Jim hears the rustle of paper, and thinks he hears his chart being set down, and then Bones voice is a lot quieter. “Don’t bother, Christine. He’s in the PD. I’m not putting myself through that again.”

“So you have to be mean to him? You just can’t be civil?”

“No. I can’t just be civil.”

There’s a huff, and angry sounding footsteps, and when Jim opens his eyes, there’s no one there.

~*~

Sulu and Uhura come to visit him the next day, but Jim only has one thing on his mind.

“Search the databases for McCoy.” He asks them both. Or rather, demands. “I think- I think Bones, I mean Doctor McCoy, he think he has something do with the PD. I think that’s why he’s so mean.”

Bones is stood at the Nurse's Station gathering charts. He looks just as gorgeous as he did that night at the bar, but there’s a slight downward curve to his lips. It doesn’t do anything to diminish his looks; it just makes Jim a little more wary of him.

“He turned you down, Jim. Maybe you should just leave him alone.” Uhura suggests.

Jim shakes his head. “I can’t. I have to know.”

Sulu sighs, and nods. “Fine. I’ll do it. We’ll do it. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.”

They stay and talk for a while, but Jim isn’t listening. He’s never been rejected before, and he needs to know why Bones gave up on him so quickly. He can’t just accept that idea that maybe Bones doesn’t like him. He needs to know.

Even if that means abusing his position, and his job, and sticking his nose in places where it really shouldn’t be.

~*~

“We’re discharging you tomorrow.” Bones says, arms folding across his chest. He’s hugging his chart, and Jim just sees it as a tiny barrier between himself and the other. Maybe that’s what it is; maybe that’s how Bones sees it too. “I’ll have Chapel bring the form down for you in the morning. Sign it, and you’re free to go.” He says.

Jim’s nose wrinkles. He’s almost done trying. “Can’t you bring them down?”

“No. I’ve got surgery tomorrow.” Bones answers. He turns, and leaves the room.

Jim growls to himself about stupid doctors and their grumpiness, and stares up at his ceiling.

Until Uhura and Sulu come in, of course.

“What did you find out?” Jim asks. He sits up- because he managed to sit up by himself a few days ago - and looks between the two of them.

Uhura’s tight lipped. It’s Sulu that hands over the printed sheets of paper.

“His wife was in the force. They moved up here from George, she used to be an officer down there. But anyway, she was off activate duty for a while-”

“-because she was pregnant.” Uhura cut in. She turns to look over her shoulder, but Bones is nowhere to be seen.

“But she got called out.” Sulu continued. “All units. It was an armed raid on a bank, before either of us were here-”

“She got shot.” Uhura says. Apparently her tight-lipped look meant nothing. She wants to tell the story too, her voice low. Maybe she’s worried that if anyone else tells it they’ll be overheard. “She got shot three times. In the chest, the leg, and-”

“The abdomen.” Jim guesses.

Uhura nods. “She died. The baby died.”

“How do you know she was married to him, though?” Jim asks.

“He’s her next of kin. Or was her next of kin.” Sulu answers. “That’s why he doesn’t want anything to do with you.”

Chapel stands in the doorway, Jim’s dinner in her hands. She looks between the three of them, and sets it down on the little table on Jim’s bed.

“Don’t say anything to him.” She says, checking over his pulse, taking a quick look at his nearly-healed wound. There's a reason behind her command, but none of them ask for it. “Don’t you dare.”

Jim nods. “Yes ma’am.” He murmurs.

She gives him a stare that tells him not to mess with her, not to talk shit to her. Jim wouldn’t dare.

She leaves, going back to the Nurse’s Station. Sulu sighs.

“Look man, we’ve got to go. But we’ll come and pick you up tomorrow, alright? What time are you getting discharged?” He asks.

Jim shrugs. “In the morning.”

“I’ll have Spock come by and get you.” Uhura murmurs.

Jim just nods. “Thanks.”

They leave, and allow him to think about what he’s learned.

And when Jim’s done thinking, he wallows.

~*~

Chapel discharges him the next day, without any fuss. They don’t talk. He signs the form, and he goes.

Jim realises, as he slides into the passenger seat of Spock’s cruiser, that it was just because Bones rejected that he’s been so obsessed. He’s obsessed because he likes him. He likes Leonard.

And Jim never likes anyone. Not like that.

But it’s pointless anyway. It’s not like Bones wants anything to do with him, or would give him the time of day to explain.

He watches as they pull away from the hospital, sighing softly to himself.

~*~

It’s a month later when Jim meets Bones again.

It’s a month in which Jim can’t stop thinking about him. He’s very careful not to get himself into too much trouble, and stay out of hospital. He doesn’t let anyone talk about Doctor McCoy or his injury, because it reminds him too well of what he knows and what it means.

It’s on his day off when he does see him, though. Despite the uniform and the guns and everything, Jim’s a pretty sweet guy. Still studied English at college for a year before he entered into the Academy. So to him, it’s not surprising that he’s sat at the corner of the coffee shop with a book of Sonnets by Barrett-Browning.

“Can I sit here?”

The voice is gruff and Southern, and somewhat cautious.

Jim knows exactly who it is.

“‘Course.” He says, nodding to the seat. “Please do.”

They sit in silence for a moment. Leonard looks down at his coffee, staring at it for a moment.

“How’re you feeling? Must be recovering well.” He says.

Jim looks up from his book, gives him a small smile. “Yeah, well, you fixed me up good.”

Bones pauses, before he says, “I was an ass.”

Jim nods, agreeing. “Yeah.” He says. “You were.”

Bones’ brow furrows as if he wasn’t expecting that, and then he sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Jim says, head shaking. He can’t tell Leonard that he knows why he was like that, so he sips his coffee instead.

“It’s not alright.” Bones argues. “Hows about I make it up to you? Over dinner?”

“Drinks then dinner.” Jim barters.

Bones gives a tiny smile, the corners of his lips turning up just slightly. He nods, obviously agreeing. “Drinks then dinner.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I really think I'm going to revisit this, because I want to do stuff like go into how Jim went over to Bones because of a bet, and Bones trying to confess his past to Jim but Jim already knowing. I'll probably just add them as chapters, so if you liked this, keep yours eyes peeled!


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